Arabella

Written in 1927, Arabella is a portrait - partly romanticized, partly factual - of Habsburg Vienna in the 1860s. It is also a celebration of the profound importance of courage and the ability to forgive in love. Our sympathies are not only drawn to Arabella, who waits for &quote;the right man&quote; to come, but to her younger sister, who breaks with conventional morality in the cause of her love.This opera is a moving testament to Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who died before it was completed, and it remains one of the best-loved products of his twenty-five- year collaboration with Strauss.Contents: The Edge of the Cliff, Michael Ratcliffe; A Musical Synopsis, William Mann; A Profound Simplicity, Patrick J. Smith; Hofmannsthal's Last Libretto, Karen Forsyth; Arabella: Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal; Arabella: English translation by John Gutman